Under the Bright Sun
by Sarianna Black
Summary: After Asa's death, Rin feels he has nothing more to live for. But with the support of his friends, is he going to find love yet again?
1. Prologue

The skies were sunny and clear, much unlike what was pictured for a funeral. Kaede Fuyo stood next to her best friend and love of her life, Rin Tsuchimi. She felt so helpless. After Asa died in the accident, Rin had lost the will to live. He walked around like a zombie, and refused to eat or sleep. He even stopped going to work, and lost his apartment because he couldn't pay. He had to move back in with her and Primula just to have a place to live. _Come to think of it, _Kaede thought_, if we hadn't all forced him to do it, he would probably be living on the street. _Kaede glanced at Lysianthus and Nerine, who were standing together, holding hands. She smiled. Even though they were both still after Rin, and rivals, they were best friends above anything.

Rin stepped forward to place his roses on her casket. Roses were her favorite. He choked back a sob and walked away. Kaede rushed over to him and held him up for fear that he was going to collapse. He wrapped his arms around her and sagged to the ground, crying uncontrollably. Kaede held him up as much as possible, but she started to waver. _Rin… you're heavy…._ "I'm so sorry, Rin… It's going to be okay, I promise." Sia and Nerine ran up and aided her in supporting him. They looked at her sadly, but smiled. Primula followed after them silently. Everything was going to be all right.


	2. Chapter 1

**I wanted to thank my first reviewer in this story, E. Pedro.**

**Yes, the first bit of writing in this story is the prologue, and there will be much more to come with this story, and plot twists and such. ^_^ Thank you for reviewing, it meant a lot. I hope to keep getting more of your awesome constructive criticism, it helps me a tremendously.

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Kaede smiled as she tucked Rin in his bed. The poor teenager had exhausted himself from crying. She stared at him one last time before walking out of his room and closing the door behind her. Primula stood outside in the hallway, holding her cat plushie that he had given her. "Is he going to be all right?"

Kaede nodded. "He's just tired. He'll wake up in a few hours. Don't worry, Rimu. I'll take care of him. Are you hungry? I'm going to go downstairs to make dinner in a bit."

She walked away and left Primula standing there silently.

Kaede moved around the kitchen effortlessly and took out the ingredients to make rice balls and smoked salmon with a bit of sushi and Pork Miso Ramen. She figured that a big meal would help cheer Rin up a little bit, especially if it was made with love. She began chopping up the onions and steaming the noodles and lost herself in her humming while she cooked.

Rin lay in his bed in the dark. Though he was exhausted and starving, he could not bring himself to eat or sleep. Asa had been his everything, the one girl that he felt connected to. She brought him joy and a will to live, and had taken that away with him when she left him. Flashes of the accident ran through his mind, and he grabbed a pillow to muffle his sob of despair as tears streamed down his face.

He smelled the scent of salmon spreading through the house, and his mouth watered involuntarily. His stomach grumbled as well, as if giving him more obvious signs to fill his body with nourishment. He sighed and pushed away his feelings of despondence and forced himself out of bed. Walking out of his room in a trance, he didn't notice Primula still standing by the door, holding his kitty.

"Rin," she called out to him softly. When he didn't respond, she called his name out a bit louder. "Rin. Rin!" She rushed up to him and tugged on his sleeve, making him look down at her. She gave him a soft smile and hugged him. "Kaede is making dinner… Will you eat with us today? We miss not having a big family dinner like we used to."

Rin suddenly thought of Asa, and how she would bring him large amounts of delicious cuisine that she had invented to his apartment and would bribe him with kisses and lovemaking. Though the food was strange to him, it was always delicious, and he got more rewards from her in his bedroom. He looked away from Primula and nodded, walking forward to head down the steps.

Kaede stirred the noodles and added the miso and the onions and bean sprouts. She saw Rin walking into the living room area with Rimu following close behind. She smiled, and turned to check on the salmon. _Regardless of the circumstance, we're all together again. It's like our family has been reunited. _"Hey, Rin! Dinner's almost ready. I'll have it set all for you in about two minutes. Did you want water or tea with the meal?"

He glanced up at her slowly and shook his head. Kaede's smile wavered slightly, but she nodded and brought out the teapot. Since he didn't know right away, she would serve both, and he could decide at the table. Taking the salmon off of the stove and replacing it with the teapot, she placed it on a serving plate, as well as with the Onigiri and the sushi. She brought it to the table, where Rin and Rimu were seated.

She smiled at Rin, who didn't notice because he was looking down, frowning at the table cloth. She stood there for a brief moment, uncertain, but rushed back in the kitchen when the teapot whistled. She added in the tea, letting it simmer while she scooped out the ramen into bowls and served them to her waiting friends. She smiled at Rin again, but like the last time, he ignored her, and she became slightly disheartened.

Primula studied the situation revolving around her senpais. _Poor Kaede… and poor Rin. I wish there was something I could do…_

Kaede finished serving everything on the table. "Well, I hope this is good. Dig in!" She looked at Rin expectantly, and sighed with relief when he picked off pieces of the food and started eating. She reached for a spoon to eat the ramen, but Rin had the same idea, and they grabbed the same spoon, hands connecting. A warm electric shock rushed through their arms, and they both pulled away, leaving Kaede to blush. Rin stared at his arm and then at Kaede who had her head down to hide her servere blush spreading across her face.

Primula stared at them both, slurping up her ramen. Kaede glanced up and caught Rin's stare, and she remained fixated, lost in his eyes. Rin was also frozen looking into her eyes.

Kaede found her breathing getting quicker and her heart beating faster. Her air supply was getting cut off, and she began panting for oxygen. A warm rush covered her and something inside her screamed_ "Look away. Just turn your head!"_ But she seemed incapable of doing so.

Rin tried to look away, but for some reason, he was unable to. _What is going on with me?_ He thought briefly, but suddenly a knock on the door was heard, jolting Rin and Kaede out of their trance. A flustered Kaede stood up quickly and went to answer the door.

She found the King of the Gods and the King of the Demons standing on her porch, with solemn expressions on their faces. "We found her."


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey, I just wanted to thank everyone again for the reviews! It's really helped me a lot to write more chapters and keep this story going. Keep reviewing! I'll try to update this as soon as possible.

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Ama Shigure, Asa's mother, lay in a hospital bed, tubes and needles connected to her. Kaede bit her lip and glanced at Rin, who was standing next to her, frozen, looking at the unconscious woman. _I can't even begin to imagine how much he must be hurting right now._ She looked back at Ama, and forced back the tears threatening to well in her eyes. Her mind wandered to the day of the accident, and her last encounter with the Artificial Life form.

"_But Ama-san, is this really the best course? I thought that you didn't want to place her under the care of the Demon science. Isn't that what you escaped from in the first place?"_

_Kaede sat across from Ama, who had her fists balled up on the table to keep from shaking. "I know. But what other choice do I have? I thought that that night with Rin had cured her. Well," she said as she shrugged, "It did, but only for a little bit. Now the magic's come back even stronger. Every day is a mystery, knowing if she's going to live or die…" Tears began welling up in her eyes. "I can't lose her, Kaede…. I need Asa." _

_Kaede rushed over to her and gave her a hug. "Hey, I understand. It's going to be okay. If you want, Rina, Rimu, Sia, and I will take Rin to visit her every day. Don't worry; everything's going to work out." _

_She helped Ama up and escorted her out the door, smiling gently at her and waving good-bye to her. "Remember, everything will be fine! We'll visit soon!"_

How she wished she could take those words back now.

Rin reached out to touch Ama's hand. She was slightly cold, and her skin had a blue undertone to it. _Oh, Ama…. Why did this have to happen?_ His knees buckled under him and he fell to the ground. Kaede reached out for him and attempted to hold him up, but she too crashed to the ground. An electric shock ran through her hands the second they connected with Rin's torso and she fought not to flinch. "Rin, are you okay?"

He looked up at her slowly with tears in his eyes. "Why, Kaede... Why did this happen to me?"

Kaede had to strain her ears to be able to hear him, and she shook her head gently. "I don't know… I'm so sorry, Rin."

Rin clutched on to her for support, ignoring the warm pulses flowing through his body. "I… I miss her so much…"

Kaede held on to him, not knowing what to do next. "I'm sorry, Rin… I'm so sorry."

A silence befell them, and Rin looked up at Kaede with a heartbreaking expression on his face, and Kaede fought the urge to cry. She needed to be strong for him. "Rin, I--"

She was interrupted by a nurse coming in to check on Ama. "Hey, visiting hours are ov--" She stopped talking and rushed past them, to Ama. The machine that she was hooked up to was no longer emitting steady beeps, but a flat line.

"Dr. Katsuke to room B43," the nurse called through her radio. Shortly after, a team of nurses and doctors rushed in, forcing Kaede and Rin out of the room. They flocked over to Ama with a defibrillator and attempted to restart Ama's heart and bring her back to life. Kaede gasped and a nurse turned around. "I'm sorry, visiting hours are over." She shut the door in Kaede's face and went back to assisting in Ama's revival. Kaede and Rin stood outside the doorway in shock.

Kaede saw the doctor shake his head and look at his watch. One of nurses wrote something down on a notepad, and they all started cleaning the area around her, taking out the needles and tubes from her body. It was all so sudden. They just got her and now she was lost again? Kaede tried to fight back tears. It wasn't fair!"

"Hello. I take it she's died then."

Kaede jumped and looked to her right, where the King of the Demons materialized out of nowhere. Rin nodded slowly, without any emotion.

The king nodded grimly. "As much as it pains me to say this, it's probably for the best. It'll help our investigation greatly."

"Investigation? Since when?"

Kaede whipped her head around to look at Rin.

"I was told that there would be no investigation. That it was a closed case." His voice was dripping with hatred, and Kaede fought not to recoil.

The King gave no sign of being affected by Rin's tone of voice. "Yes, but after looking closely at the evidence left over from _The Accident_, we decided to figure out exactly what happened." He walked inside to talk to the doctors, leaving Rin and Kaede to take in everything that was mentioned.

Rin's hands automatically balled into fists and he started shaking. _An investigation? Ama's death being convenient? What the hell is going on?_ He glared at the ground. _Does he think we're stupid or something? I don't know what's happening, but I'm sure gonna find out. Even if it kills me. _


End file.
